Resize a GIF Online

Resize a GIF: how it works

Decodes every frame of an existing GIF, scales them all to a new width and height, and re-encodes a fresh animated GIF at that size. The animation, per-frame timing, and loop are preserved.

Keeps

Animation, timing, loop

Max size

1600 px per side

Scaling down

Stays sharp

Scaling up

Softens (no detail to recover)

Aspect ratio

Lockable

What to know about the GIF format here

A GIF carries no extra detail beyond its pixels, so scaling up just enlarges existing pixels and looks soft — there is nothing to recover — whereas scaling down stays crisp.

Tips for the best result

• Reducing the width is the single most effective way to shrink a GIF's file size, because every frame loses pixels; halving the width can cut the file to roughly a quarter.
• Keep Lock aspect ratio on and change just one dimension so the GIF keeps its proportions and does not stretch.
• Output is capped at 1600 px per side; if you need a large banner GIF, start from the highest-resolution source you have rather than enlarging a small one.
• Common chat and inline sizes land around 320–480 px wide; 600–800 px is generous for an embedded demo.

When to use this

Reach for this when a GIF is the wrong size for where it is going — too wide for a chat bubble, too small for a banner — and you need exact pixels while keeping it animated.

How GIF files behave

• A GIF stores up to 256 colours per frame from a palette it picks for that frame, so flat graphics, logos, line art, and screen recordings reproduce cleanly, while photographic gradients and skin tones can band or dither.
• GIF compression (LZW) is lossless per frame — it never adds JPEG-style blocky artefacts — but because every frame is essentially a full image, the file grows quickly with more frames, more pixels, and more colours.
• Animation timing is stored as a per-frame delay in hundredths of a second, and looping is set by a small repeat marker (the Netscape extension), which is why a GIF can loop forever on its own with no player controls.
• A GIF has no audio track and no real alpha blending — only a single fully-transparent colour — so it is built for short, silent, looping motion rather than full video; a muted MP4 or WebM is far smaller for anything longer than a few seconds.